Over the last few weeks there have been increasing talk about Schumacher's soon to be released new TC that they have been testing both in the UK and US.

Already a few months ago there were reports from England about early prototypes spotted at various tracks around England. During the last few weeks more and more people have seen the car that now appears to be closer to production spec. Some says that the car is likely to be released in 1-3 months.

Reports have suggested a very low design with a super short upper deck and other than that a bit HB Cyclone like.

With it being so openly tested at racetracks and races it was only a matter of time until pictures cam through.

Some (smart ) guy called Nathan Parker from the UK posted some pictures on the Schumacher Corner @ RC Tech. Apparently there were also other pictures posted but they were withdrawn.

Schumacher USA's response and also that of many posters there I really don't agree at all with.

Usually I think the Schumacher USA guys (Adrian Martinez & Paul Wynn) are some of the smarter company representatives that post on rctech and they have opinions that I often agree with.

In this case I definitely do not agree and I cannot understand the many private drivers that seem to agree.

Here's some of what have been said on the thread regarding the pics:

Would you guys mind taking the pics down until Monday? I would like to talk with Robin to make sure its ok to have them out. There is a lot of stuff on the car we would rather not have copied before we get a change to release it.

Nathan...I guess you feel important now
Skiddins....Thank you for the understanding.
I would just like to thank all the racers in Florida that showed Schumacher a lot of respect regarding this matter

Damn pics posted!!!!!!!! I talked to PW about the car for awhile and never mentioned. Some just never learn to be patient and keep what they know to themselves. I guess you know who you can talk to and who you can.

You should have shown some respect to Schumacher like I did on the UK Racing thread. I hope this does not effect Adam's relationship at Northampton.

Now someone tell me why we should respect the manufacturers and not post pics of new cars that they test in public? If you manage to get a pic of something new of course you post it! We are paying customers, we don't need to respect them with not posting spy pics!

It's exactly the same as if a person get a spy pic of the new Renault F1 car or new VW Golf Mk8. In these cases he can get money by selling that pic to magazines for example. There's no "respect the manufacturers" there and there should be none here!

Especially Paul Wynn's response on this matter is just ridiculous.

Nathan...I guess you feel important now

Where's the RESPECT in that???

Finally here are the pics posted by Nathan Parker on RC Tech!

So Marc joined the Checkpoint punks as predicted here on the blog 10 days before the press release.

His brother Toni, Kyosho factory driver, will also run Checkpoint from now on. According to some there seems to have been some friction between Rheinard/Orion during the last few months...

Here's the press release:

World Domination…Checkpoint Style!

O’Donnell Racing
December 15, 2006
Santa Fe Springs, California

O’Donnell Racing continues to shock and impress the world. As if it wasn’t enough to have IFMAR World Champion Atsushi Hara join the team, Team Checkpoint has repeated the feat by adding another IFMAR World Champion...one of racing’s hottest stars, Marc Rheinard!

Rheinard has signed a multi-year contract to run Team Checkpoint’s Modified Motors and Signature Series Batteries exclusively. He will also step up his nitro program — exclusively running the unbeatable combination of O’Donnell Race Blend Fuel and World Championship-winning O’Donnell Glow Plugs.

Rheinard has earned a worldwide reputation for success by winning just about every major contest: the IFMAR World Championship; LRP Masters; Reedy Race of Champions; TITC; DHI Cup; and on, and on.

Every time Rheinard stands behind the wheel, you know you are about to witness something amazing. With the combination of Team Checkpoint horsepower and Signature Series voltage, Rheinard will be setting TQs and winning championships the instant he hits the track.

Team Checkpoint and O’Donnell Racing are extremely pleased and honored to welcome Marc Rheinard to our team. We look forward to sharing countless championships together!

Final part for today. Tommorrow I will post some pictures of the painted body, underbosy and wing!

A few photos of the wheels and wheel fastening system.

Rear wheels.

Front wheels.

Front and rear.

Rear wheel fastening system.

Front wheel fastening system.

Here are some photos of the complete TRF501X.

The final main part to build are the dampers.

In TC racing the TRF dampers have long been the best. A buggy version of these is also available as an option part for some of the more entry level buggies from Tamiya.

For the TRF501X Tamiya developed totally new dampers though that will better hold up to the abuse of off-road competition. These dampers reminds much of the competition's products in how they are designed.

The superb quality and precision is once again evident just like on their TC dampers.

The dampers are threaded and use two o-rings and no bladder. Three different two hole pistons are included with the kit. Yellow springs are included front and rear.

There will probably be tuning springs available from Tamiya in the near future and based on the TC springs softer than yellow will be red while harder should be blue and then white. The springs are actually white coloured following the current trand from TRF TC's but are colour coded like I just mentioned.

The damper caps have moulded indents for holes for bleed screws. If you want to use these you just need to drill these out and use the included small hex head bleed screws.

Now mount the dampers to the chassis and the buggy is beginning to look complete!

Time to mount the front and rear suspension to the chassis.

For the front suspension balls on the hingepins go into the rear mounts already fastened to the chassis while at the front the suspension balls are not used. Instead a solid aluminium brace holds the hingepins again with the aim of strength.

At the rear the front suspension balls go into the already assembled front suspension mount while the rear a solid looking nicely machined aluminium block holds these.

A plastic moulded spacer is iused to adjust anti-squat.

The precision of the parts is very evident here as the spacer fits snugly into grooves machined in the alu block meaning that when assembling or de-assemling this will not fall out and cause any frustration as would often be the case.

Very impressed by this bit.

Rear mount mounted.

Rear bumper mounted.

Front bumper mounted.

Front kick-up.

Front suspension mounted to chassis. Also seen here is the nicely moulded front diff cover/roll-bar mount.

Rear suspension mounted to chassis. Also seen here is the nicely moulded rear diff cover/roll-bar mount.

After the chassis is ready the next step to be built is the suspension.

First step of this is to assemble the driveshafts. These are the same type of rebuildable CVD's used on most TC's these days. The 501 version comes in steel that is black coloured.

The rear units come with 64mm shafts and long axles while the front ones have much longer shafts at 78mm with a short axle.

Remember to use a bit of thread lock on the grub screws.

Next up you assemble the complete rear suspension package consisting of the arms, uprights, camber link and driveshafts.

The arms themselves look very strong (track testing will have to prove if this is the case) and the shape and geometry look similar to B4 arms.

The uprights or hubs are beautiful parts with a nice shape (to my eye anyway) and hold the 5x10mm bearings (2). Plastic spacers are used to adjust wheelbase. I used some of Tamiyas 3mm shims (included) to take out a bit of play.

The inner hingepins use the same suspension balls as the TRF TC's and again you can adjust wheelbase with spacers.

It would have been nice to see some quality titanium turnbuckles included but I suppose the incleded ones will do their job as well. Newly developed for this car is the reinforced (HD) ball cups that seem like quality items with very little or no play.

To hold the outer hingepin in place Tamiya have incorporated these small 2,6x5mm screws. The hole at the other end of the wishbone is semi-closed, with just a small hole going all the way through. A nice idea (although taken from other cars) that's much better on an offroad car than using clips or a grup screw on the hinge pin.

Front suspension assembled. Again the arms look strong. Three positions for the damper just like at the rear and with the same system holding the outer hingepin. other features are also the same although there is no wheelbase adjustment spacers on either hingepin. Probably good at the front though as it will take some abuse...

The only issue I encountered during the whole building process was with the front uprights and steering spindle fitment. When assembled these did not move as freely as I would've liked so I had to take some time to correct this. Not a lot of work was required but I'm actually not 100% sure on the cause. I filed down the uprights where the king-pins go into them and also very slightly enlargened the holes for these.

Been a busy weekend!

I've had no extra time so that's why the interuption in the 501 buildng process.

The 501X is basically finished though and I have continued taking photos along the way and will now that I have time try to post them.

First I will start off with some photos of the car at the stage where my last post was made, i.e. with the chassis assembled but missing suspensions and dampers.

Here they are.

BEAUTIFUL

The next step in the build of Tamiya's new TRF501X buggy is the front end, starting with the front differential.

The front diff is exactly the same as the rear, with the exception of the pulley. While the rear pulley is from the TA05 and 36t the front pulley is from the TRF415 and 35t. This creates an overdrive for the front axle meaning the front wheels will spin faster.

Obviously you could also fit the same pulley front and rear if you want. Once again my limited experience in offroad prevents me from having an opinion about this feature...although I understand what it does and what the effect should be in theory.

Usually TRF machines are very throughly tested and have lots of development work so this is obviously something that the TRF team found beneficial.

On this picture you can see the round diff rings.

Steering assembly ready to go onto the chassis. The steering is very smooth with a total of 6 bearings. Obviously the steering is tilted to match the front kick-up.

Next up you attach the front bulkheads to the chassis. Also attached to the chassis at this stage are the rear mounts for the front suspension. As you can see very nicely machined and fits into the small pocket or cut-out in the front of the chassis.

As with the rear end, the chassis only extends to just behind the diff. Again this should help the front end from digging into the ground.

Here is the steering system attached to the chassis.

Time to attach the front body mounts to the front upper deck. Then route the upper deck under the belt and fasten the rear screws that attaches to the middle bulkhead loosely.

The final part of the chassis then. The upper front bulkhead and damper tower is is now attached with a similar bridge/camber link mount as at the rear end. Again the height of this mount (i.e. thecamber links) can be adjusted with spacers. The standard setting is 2mm just like the rear.

Before you tighten everything down it's a good idea to place the chassis on a flat table or setup board (also loosen the rear upper deck screws) and check that everything is straight while tightening the screws that hold down these parts.

Once assembled the whole structure is very, very solid. Although the chassis and upper decks are 'only' 2,5mm thick, the way that everything is designed, with the bulkheads and stiffeners, means that the chassis is really stiff. There's virtually no flex at all.

Time to build the rear bulkhead and suspension mount.

A nice feature of the 501 is the short chassis. As you can see in the pictures the chassis extends only to just in front of the diff centre. The bulkheads then go further back to incorporate the excentric diff bearing holders and the upper link bridge.

The short chassis should really help coming off jumps and bumps as it will be much less likely that the rear of the chassis hits the ground and causes unpredictable handling.

I set the rear belt tension a few clicks looser than recommended to start with. Once the belts get run in and stretched out it's likely they will need to be tightened.

Overview of the assembled rear end with upper bulkhead and shock tower.

This picture shows the bridge that stiffens the whole assembly and also functions as a camber link mount. By raising or lowering this you can easily alter the roll centre. Spacers of various thickness are included. The factory setting is 2mm.

As you can see on the picture there are three holes for the links.

Middle bulkhead detail with rear upper deck and TRF logo'ed stiffener attached.

This picture clearly shows how short the chassis is and how the bulheads have been formed to get as much ground clearance at the rear end as possible.

Next up the layshaft/slipper assembly.

Everything goes together very smoothly. Being a newbie (or comback'er 95 was the last time I owned a buggy ) at offroad I can't comment much on the slipper material or construction as such other than that it has two pads, a 96t (48 pitch) spur and the same TA05 pulleys as also used on the TRF415MSX MR and the soon to be released MSXX.

Next up is the rear diff assembly. Again I followed the same tips as when I build the TRF415 diffs.

The diffs come with steel outdrives that are very nicely machined. The finish of all the surfaces is very, very smooth. The rear diff uses the 36t TA05 pulley and you use the outer holes for the 8 diff balls (3mm). The diff use new diff rings that are not D shaped but totally round O.

As always the first step is prepping the carbon fibre parts.

Again following the tips by Team CRC and Atsushi Hara like in my previously posted TRF415MSX Marc Rheinard Edition - Detailed Building Tips.

The first parts to be assembled are the mid-bulkheads and motormount, together with the tilted base for the steering.

The middle left bulkhead is quite an assembly in itself with the separate motor mount, bearing belt guides and lots of screws. All very nicely machined and the same nice shade of 'electric' blue as on the latest TRF TC's.

Notice the details on the motor mount.

Assembled left middle bulkhead/motormount.

Fastened to the chassis the assembly looks like this.

Well I did get that xmas when I was a kid feeling as I got some fun new toys today.

Among them the TRF501X that I'm going to build for RacingFactory.fi.

Interesting (!) but cool body design. Apparently tested in a wind tunnel by Tamiya, and you can see that. Also brings some Avante flashbacks from many, many years ago. K!

I have tested with 5 cells for the last couple of Saturdays. Still with 1500g weight though as the 5 cell/1350g rule will be used from the summer season onward in Finland.

I will post more info later. Here just a couple of pics though.

Item #49419 - RC TRF415MSXX

The race-spec chassis used by Tamiya Racing Factory driver Mark Rheinhard to multiple event wins around the world is now available to the masses. Now, R/C fans worldwide can get a taste of the TRF415MSX Mark Rheinhard Edition's awesome performance at a more affordable price. Utilizing more commonly available parts for increased practicality, this chassis still remains faithful to the features of its more potent sibling and is a perfect addition to the weekend racer's arsenal.

- High-quality assembly kit chassis based on the TRF415MSX Mark Rheinhard Edition.

- Equipped with Front One-Way and Center One-Way Units as standard.

- Parts for the air scoop to allow for more efficient cooling are included.

- A differently shaped upper deck, a lower deck with a different thickness, and steel screws are some of the features that help reduce costs while maintaining race performance.

- Body, tires, R/C system, motor, and battery are available separately.

http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=49419

Back with the latest silly season info from today.

Marc Rheinard has indeed re-signed with Tamiya. This is 100% sure info.

Will he continue with Orion though?

There are some rumors going around about a possible switch to Checkpoint power. This would seem a bit unexpected in many ways but there are also some indications that seems to suggest such a move is actually possible for 2007.

A move to Checkpoint would copy the move by Atsushi Hara around half a year ago. With that move apparently being a result of a big money offer from Checkpoint that Orion did not want to match probably they would be willing to make a good offer to Marc as well.

We'll find out sooner or later I guess. Not much time left until the first international race of 2007; the DHI Cup.

As I revealed in my post exactly 3 weeks ago it has been confirmed that Tamiya have signed Viktor Wilck.

Here's a link to my November 14 scoop:
http://kentech.blogs.se/2006/11/14/silly_season~1328886

The news has been confirmed here:
http://rcforum.co.kr/rcbbs/view.php?id=rcnews&no=811

Just like it says in the news from RC Forum Korea, I agree that Viktor seems to be "one of the most talented RC drivers in the world". Watching Viktor drive his driving reminds very much of the best drivers there is; Marc, Atsushi and Masami. Very few drivers drive in that way so imo Viktor could go very far with the right support and self confidence.

With regards to my other predictions in my November 14 post I would like to update them with the latest info.

Joel Myrberg is moving over to Associated for 2007. There's no mention or indeed any confirmed news about this anywhere but it's 99,9% sure as it comes from a very reliable source...

Coming from another reliable source it also seems that Steen Graversen is staying with Tamiya although he did have an offer from the team mentioned in my November 14 post.

As to Marc I have yet to check up on that. According to what I heard some time ago he is staying with Tamiya although his contract run out some time ago. If a new one has been signed I dunno. What makes the water a bit muddy in this case though is that he did not attend the Orion GP Worldcup last weekend. Need to find out why...